Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy - Vinyl Record 180g

Can't Buy a Thrill was an unexpected hit, which led to Donald Fagen becoming the group's full-time lead vocalist. For their second album, Countdown to Ecstasy, Fagen and Walter Becker acted as if Steely Dan was a rock & roll band. Despite the loud guitars and pronounced backbeat of "Bodhisattva," "Show Biz Kids," and "My Old School," Countdown was a riskier album musically than its predecessor. Each of its eight songs features sophisticated, jazz-inflected interludes. Apart from the bluesy vamps "Bodhisattva" and "Show Biz Kids," which sound like they were written for the stage, the songs are subtly textured. "Razor Boy," with its murmuring vibes, and the hard bop tribute "Your Gold Teeth" reveal Becker and Fagen's jazz roots. Meanwhile, the country-flavored "Pearl of the Quarter" and the ominous, skittering "King of the World" are both overlooked gems. Countdown to Ecstasy is the only time Steely Dan played it relatively straight, and its eight songs are rich with either musical or lyrical detail that their album rock or art rock contemporaries couldn't hope to match.